Q&A · 3:20:10-3:22:31

A battleship on tracks would still need close-defense weapons

The humorous land-battleship thought experiment reveals a real design problem: main guns mounted high in a hull cannot depress far enough to cover nearby ground.

Question

What defenses could stop a tracked HMS Warspite or USS Texas used as an amphibious land battleship?

Short answer

Its main weakness would be the close dead zone beneath its high-mounted guns, so it would need low-mounted weapons and armored escorts despite its heavy protection and firepower.

Notes

The imagined vehicle combines HMS Warspite or USS Texas with tracks for movement ashore. The battleship's main and secondary guns would leave a close dead zone because their mountings cannot depress far enough to engage targets beside the hull. Additional low-mounted guns and an accompanying armored formation would therefore be necessary. The hull's structure and enormous tracks might resist smaller mines, although the design would require major alteration rather than simply placing an existing ship on a chassis.